Song of the Day: Wild Nothing – Feel You Now

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s selection, featured on the Afternoon Show with Cheryl Waters, is “Feel You Now” by Wild Nothing from the 2012 7-inch single “Shadow”/”Feel You Now” on Captured Tracks.

Blacksburg, VA, musician Jack Tatum first released Gemini, his debut album, under the Wild Nothing moniker, during his senior year of college in 2010, but two years later, the man still hasn’t put his degree to much use – which, for Tatum, is a good thing. After gathering a handful of friends to flesh out the live incarnation of the band, Tatum hit the road for the first time, learning the ins and outs of becoming a live performer. Shaped by his first cross-country trek, Nocturne presents a fuller, more meticulously crafted version of Wild Nothing. Carried by buoyant synths and warm textures, “Feel You Now” is the slow-burning cool down to its a-side “Shadow”‘s soft-sugar rush. The gently layered tune begins with a stomping 808 drum machine that maintains a steady pace during the sensual verses, but when the chorus enters, it brings an array of sharp synthesizers that unleash one melodic run of notes after another, culminating in a b-side that wouldn’t be out of place on Nocturne (and perhaps should have been on the record.) Like a less neon-noir Chromatics or hazier Hot Chip, Tatum is quickly establishing himself as one of electronic pop’s premier songwriters, and as the strong and colorful arrangements of Nocturne show, he’ll soon be one of the genre’s best bandleaders too.

Tatum and company are currently on the road in support of Nocturne, and although they’ve already passed through Seattle on the current leg of the tour, it’s possible they’ll return to the Pacific Northwest on a forthcoming leg, so keep track of the band on their website and Facebook. Below, watch the band play “Summer Holiday” from Gemini live at KEXP last year.